ICBE> Registration> Accreditation Level 1 Level 1: Cost effective for small Renewable Energy (RE) systems Available for monitored and unmonitored systems System production values modeled against regional environmental conditions and discounted by standard amount to compensate for performance degradation, variations in usage, untested telemetry, etc. Registration fee: US $25 Listing fee: 40 – 50% of ERC's generated (Monitored vs.Unmonitored) RE System Registration Requirements: Signed statement attesting system ownership, system composition, and usage profile 2 current photographs, equipment purchase and/or installation receipts Emission Reduction Certification Requirements: System Verification by RE Professional, Independent Third Party (ITP), or ICBE Agent Buyer side metering qualifies as production verification (PPA needs to be reviewed) Listing Agreement for ICBE, ClimateSafe, and CarbonExchange You Receive: 60 – 50% of ERC's generated (Monitored vs.Unmonitored) Certificate of Registration Weather-proof decal with your ICBE RE system registration number 10 year group trading privileges for ICBE, ClimateSafe, and CarbonExchange Full reporting of ERC's extended by ICBE to Host Country, UNFCCC, and other bodies responsible for tracking GHG reductions Personal representation of ERC's at national and international venues, in print media, and on the Internet Our commitment to deliver ERC's with the highest recognition and market value System Owners may upgrade to a higher level at any time!   About System Output Discounting System output is one of the key factors in assigning ERC's. Under ideal circumstances, all systems would be monitored hourly by an ICBE installed tamper-proof meter, and system production would be compared to hourly emission rates of the local power pool. This goal may be in reach in the coming years with new developments in telemetry, expansion of wireless service areas, and increasing availability of emission data from public and privately held utilities.   For the moment, though, we work with what is available. This means discounting yearly production values to minimize the risk of over-crediting a system with ERC's. Site visits and continual monitoring of participating systems will allow us to fine tune the applied discount factor to where it most precisely intersects real production values.   To a buyer, an ERC has to represent the actual emissions avoided. Accuracy is also of importance in accounting for GHG reductions achieved by RE systems in National GHG Emission Inventories. Accuracy will allow us to manage Greenhouse Gases better and express the contribution of Renewable Energy in reducing emissions with confidence.   We therefore purposely understate yearly production values in Level 1 and Level 2 accreditation and commit to work our way up as better data becomes available.   About Group Trading Privileges Group Trading Privileges means you control the price, the amount, and the time when ERC's are put up for sale, but there is no direct contact with the buyer. To accommodate large entities who seek many ERC's across several vintage years, ERC's from Level 1 and Level 2 systems are pooled into batches. Meanwhile, we keep track of what happens to ERC's on ClimateSafe, CarbonExchange, and throughout the ICBE Banking environment.   About Site Visits We'd like to inspect every participating system every year, but that would be costly and somewhat impractical. It would also generate a lot of emissions. So after initial verification, a random number of site visits are performed each year, enabling us to revalidate system set up, production, availability, and usage. This approach enables the ICBE to maintain a high level of inventory control.   Site visit locations are chosen at random. By registering, participating system owners give the ICBE the right to inspect a system at any time (we do call before hand !). A visit may be conducted by a local RE Professional, an Independent Third Party (ITP) under contract with the ICBE, or one of our own staff.   Site visits are an important part of the process and allow us to stand behind the credits we issue. Site visits increase our ability to accurately compensate systems with ERC's and enhance buyer confidence in our product.   About Data Collection Many modern day output monitors have telephone or computer jacks built in, and can send data over the internet. After you register, you can download this information directly into your account. We also accommodate data collection by diskette. If that is not an option, you simply read off the meter and use the functions of your account to update system performance.   For systems that do not have an output monitor, domestic water heaters for example, we use a different approach. Likely there are test facility output data available for the system, or the contractor will have made an output estimate. These data are used in conjunction with local environmental data to build an output profile. Our software gathers available temperature, irradiance and other data and builds a day, week, and month output chart for the system at its location. This output data is then discounted by a standard factor to compensate for errors. Once certified, ERC's are credited to the system owner's on-line account at the end of each calendar or production year.   Data collection is most useful when done regularly, preferably by the hour, as it allows us to make direct comparisons with hourly emission output data from local utilities. In situations where fixed or benchmark emission factors may be applied, hourly readings won't matter. For level 1 accreditation, however, we need monthly output readings as a minimum.   Data gathering methods will likely change over time to adopt new technologies and accommodate evolving requirements of UNFCCC and national laws. Also, when site visits take place, some systems may be equipped with our own telemetry to calibrate production assumptions as well as the standard discount.